Brazil - Clearing In When Entering from the South

If entering Brasil from the South, try Rio Grande
first. We skipped it and
steamed directly from Uruguay to Florianopolis, but "Floripa" is not set
up to clear foreign
yachts: no customs office in town.

We cleared immigration in the Beira
Mar district, at the
office of Policia Federal, then steamed back south to Imbatuba (50 kms) to
clear customs in a
commercial port that is not set up for private yachts.

A new 2009 law
requests that all yachts
in transit not flying a Mercosul flag (i.e. one from Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay or Uruguay) be registered with customs and file
a "Simplified
Temporary Importation." This entails a "despachante" and at least 24 hours
of waiting for
documentation. Forget the weekends! Once you get customs cleareance
(anywhere from
$100 to $300 later) you can present to the Capitanaria dos Portos (under
the bridge) in
Floripa and ask for you entry document. The Capitanaria is only open from
Monday to Friday,
8:30 to 11:30 AM